The Key
by Tenchi-sama1
Summary: Chapter one is mainly some background to the story, focusing on the Goddesses. I think its about time someone covered the history of the Key itself. If ya read, feel free to post a review. One can never have too many reviews.


Disclaimer: Hi again. Its me. Just making sure you understand some things here. First off, I don't own Tenchi, never have, never will, never claimed to. I use these characters only because I love them and wish to expand upon them. I don't use Tenchi or any other series for my own profit, this is simply for everybody's enjoyment. Please do enjoy, read, review, and if you like this, read my other stuff on Fanfiction.net and Fictionpress.net. Aregato and, once again, enjoy.

Yosho clapped his hands together twice, offering up a prayer to his ancestors. He knelt down on his tatami mat, his eyes tracing the intricate carvings of Tenchi-ken. He picked up the blade and stroked its smooth wooden surface, his fingers tracing the grain to the pommel, where two red gems lay embedded. The sword was replaced, another prayer was offered, and Yosho began his meditation.

* * *

"Sister...Tsunami, goddess of life, come to me."

"I am here sister."

The stars moved in their heavenly dance, swirling galaxies and nebulas forming a beautiful tapestry. It was on this background that the Sisters met, Tsunami and Tokimi. Tsunami reached out and touched her sister's face in the ancient ritual, and Tokimi mirrored her action.

"You called for me?"

"Indeed I did. There are matters I wish to discuss with you, matters which have greatly disturbed me these past days."

"Then speak, sister, and may your words be as eloquent as any that have come from mortal or god."

"The Trio separates. Washu spends her time by herself, playing with the very elements of the Universe. Her sport will destroy lives in greater number than the stars in the heavens."

"Is that all? Washu means well, she merely gets carried away. I shall speak with her."

"That is not all. You, sister, have forgotten your duties. Once the bringer of life to all worlds, you now spend your time among the tree people."

"The Jurians? I find their planet to be a haven, a place of unrivaled beauty throughout the heavens. Their people are sincere, eager to please the gods and do what is right. Theirs will be a long-lived civilization indeed. But what of it?"

"What of it? That you would neglect your obligations for a single people? We are gods, Tsunami. Ours is the cosmos, and all creatures within. We cannot seclude ourselves to but one race. It is not good, nor right."

"Is right not for us to determine? Likewise good?"

"And long ago we did, and we are bound by our word."

"We are bound by nothing. Tend to your responsibilities, and I shall look after mine."

"Very well, sister."

"Goodbye, sister."

The two goddesses bowed, touching their own faces to show their dialogue was at an end. Tsunami returned to Jurai, planet of the tree people. Tokimi watched from her vantage point. From here, all of the Universe was laid bare before her. This would not do, she decided. This would most definitely not do.

* * *

Yukuta walked through the forest lands of his people. A smile graced his countenance as he made his way along the worn path, the buzz of insects mingling with the chirrup of birds, the wild scents brushing past his nose. He knelt by the stream, which flowed along the path and drank from it, the clear, pure water quenching his palate. He stood, brushing the dust from his robes. His thirst slaked, he continued down the trail, not resting till he reached his objective. 

He gazed at the magnificent tree, the only one like it in the forest. It was here where he came to worship Tsunami, the great goddess. The birds and insects did not stray here, and he was left in relative silence, save the burbling of the stream as it flowed by.

"Tsunami, goddess of life, this day I come to you to worship you. Your creation sings, the song of life they lift up to you." Here he paused, bowed, and began to meditate.

Tsunami smiled at the man bowed in the clearing. He was, she knew, the leader of his tribe of people, a man with both strength of body and heart. He led well, thanks in part to her intervention. He was a loyal and good servant, even among the people of Jurai, who were by nature receptive to a god's influence. She silently walked toward him, noting with some amusement that it didn't matter how loudly she walked, he wouldn't see or hear her, and placed her hand on his head. Immediately he went slack. She smiled again and wandered off through the trees, pleased at how well they were doing under the care of the Jurians.

Yukuta awoke with a start. How long he had been unconscious he did not know, but darkness now filled the land, and his last memory had been prior to midday. His tongue felt swollen and his mouth was dry as a bone. He climbed unsteadily to his feet, the muscles crying out in weakness. He decided that he must have been out for at least two days, and needed nourishment as soon as possible. Slowly, he began to make his way to the village, stopping first to drink from the stream.

* * *

Tokimi watched her sister Tsunami, and shook her head in displeasure. No mortal species deserved more attention from a god than any other. The role of a deity was to control the universe from afar, directly intervening only when it was absolutely necessary. She seemed to be the only one to remember that now. 

"Washu."

No response.

"Washu, sister, come to me."

No response.

Frustration blossomed in Tokimi's breast, but she ignored it, choosing instead to locate her red haired sister. She gazed through the heavens, finally sensing Washu, and made her way toward her target. She approached Washu and grasped her shoulder. 

"Sister!"

Washu motioned to Tokimi, beaconing for silence. Tokimi followed her sister's gaze to three stars whose gravity had pulled them together. The stars were pulling matter away from one another, and moving closer and closer together. 

*What could she be up to?* wondered Tokimi.

The stars continued orbiting one another, their proximity directly proportionate to their speed. The closer they came, the faster they moved. Washu smiled as they came closer, closer, and finally touched.

"Boom." whispered the red haired goddess.

The stars contact elicited a massive shockwave, crushing nearby planets and moons. The dust of these ruined astral bodies swirled toward the Armageddon which was occurring at the epicenter of the stars. They seemed to eat one another, imploding and collapsing upon themselves. The light dimmed, then extinguished as a black hole formed from the force of the gravity well pulling at space. Washu grasped this black hole and closed her hand around it, Tokimi watching intently. Washu opened her fist, revealing a small black gem in her palm. She placed it next to two others and faced her sister, quickly reaching out and touching her sister's face.

"You wished to speak to me?" she queried.

"Indeed." stated Tokimi, touching her sister's face. "What has transpired here?"

"The creation of a device strong enough to hold a god's power, one that can only be destroyed by using equal force to that which created it. In short, a storage unit so powerful only a god can make use of it."

"To what purpose?"

"Tapping into a mortal's mind will reveal much about them, but not all. I wish to gain a better understanding of those whom we control. These containers will hold enough of my power so that I might live as one of them."

"You wish to become mortal?"

"To be sure. It will only be temporary, and I will need you and Tsunami to assume my duties, but I'm sure you can manage."

"Indeed..." Tokimi's mind raced. Washu, a powerless mortal, Tsunami preoccupied with the lives of such trivial individuals...there was only one thing to be done.

"Proceed, sister. I assure you, all will be taken care of."

"Thank you, sister Tokimi." Washu touched her own face, then turned to the gems without allowing her sister to show her the same courtesy. She believed the ritual to be a waste of time, and Tokimi knew it.

*As if we were limited by time,* Tokimi mused. 

Washu reached out, her eyes slowly closing and her fingers pointing toward the black gems. Her hair billowed about her as if tossed by a sudden gust of air. The space around her seemed to fade from black to a bright red, tendrils of this red energy springing from her hands to the gems. The gems also began the transformation, the formerly black globes turning pink, then crimson. 

*Tokimi,* Washu sent her sister. *You must send me to a planet that can support my new mortal life.*

*It shall be done, sister,* Tokimi mentally replied, pushing her sister to a nearby planet.

As the red haired goddess's feet touched the grassy earth, her entire frame seized up. Her eyes snapped open and rolled back in her head, her back arched, and her limbs flew to the sides. Her breathing became sporadic, and her heartbeat followed suit. She fell to the ground, unmoving.

"This could be a discouraging sign..." murmured Tokimi. 

Slowly, very slowly, Washu regained consciousness. She drew herself up onto her feet, gazing around in wonder. "Tokimi!" she shouted, no longer able to communicate mentally with her sister. "This is incredible!" She picked up the gems and placed them in a fold in her robes.

Tokimi gazed down at her sister. It was unfortunate that it should have to come to this, but she had little choice. Her sisters were forgetting their duties, and she alone had the wisdom to govern. She appeared beside her sister, invisible to mortal eyes. Her hand darted out, touching Washu's brow.

"Sleep, sister," said the goddess, and immediately the red haired one did so. "Forget."

Deep in Washu's now mortal mind, a door slammed shut. Her face contorted in pain, then relaxed. She would not remember. None did.

Deep in the foundations of the Universe, a place of unparalleled beauty, where the goddesses themselves had been born, a single voice cried out. More joined, till the vast choir of ethereal voices all joined in one song. A song of melancholy, of loss, of betrayal. The stars dimmed, and the music slowly faded...


End file.
